It made me think

When I was deciding to move to Dream State, I thought about the history, the architecture, the job opportunities, the change in seasons, the wine festivals, the change in general...

What I didn't think about is that Dream State is a hot spot when it comes to being a target for those not thrilled with the US. That attacks, bombs, shootings, and the general desire to have innocent, collateral damage to make a point would become a part of the fabric of my life.

Maybe not every day exactly but having to go through a metal detector every day and having my lunch scanned every morning is just a tiny indicator that the level of danger in my day to day is higher.

When I got a text update this afternoon that police activity was causing a disruption to the metro I take to and from work every day and can be seen from my work window, I didn't think a whole lot about it. I imagined someone getting into an altercation that had to be broken up by the authorities. Not long after the first text, I got another update that my station was being closed due to police activity. Not long after that, another update about a suspicious package.

Making the trek to the window to see for myself what was going on, I could see that police tape had been strung up to block off the roads around my building and a bomb robot was being deployed.

At first, the robot seemed a novel thing that the average person doesn't get to see. Rumors began to circulate that other nearby buildings had been evacuated.

Discussion of an alternate metro came up...but that perhaps a taxi was a better idea...that we should remove our IDs as we exited our offices so as not to draw attention to ourselves...

Fear began to set in.

I realize I didn't become a victim today. I realize that to the best of my knowledge the suspicious package didn't turn out to be a bomb. I realize that everything is ok.

But it made me think. I haven't done anything wrong. I have no strong political stances. Yet, because of where I work, who I work for, and where I live, my life may someday be sacrificed in a war that no one fully understands. In a war that in some ways, only exists in the minds of delusional extremists.

I don't know that I'm too terribly excited about all that.

Though, I am pretty damn excited that PC arrives to visit tonight. I need a hug.